Be Cool

Rating:
Summary: Great first half.
Review: This is a sequel in which Chilli Palmer goes into the music business. Chilli, as his name suggests, is wonderfully cool. He is tough, but gets his way by outsmarting and confusing his adversaries. As is usual in an Elmore Leonard, most of the characters are fun, even the evil ones. I loved the first half of the book (until about the baseball bat murder) which is done with a light touch. By the end, however, the book became ALMOST tiresome. I am not sure what the problem is. Perhaps it is that Palmer's ultimate love interest is a totally uninspired character, and Palmer, himself, seems to be going through the motions, even while the plot twists continue unabated.

Rating:
Summary: KEEP Looking at me.
Review: This is one of the best L.A. books I've ever read. It's fairly recent and takes place in locations that L.A. people actually go (Swingers, Canter's Deli, Ralph's). The plot is a bit reminscent of Get Shorty, but who cares. The book is very entertaining.